Friday, April 23, 2010

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a highball glass and top with soda water. Rinse shaker with extra soda and strain on top to add more foam. Garnish with a wide lime twist and a straw.

On Monday night, Andrea and I ventured down to Drink and found seats at the center bar in front of bartender Sam Treadway. Even though we were a day late for Tiki Sunday, Sam was still game to make us Tiki drinks. While Andrea went with a Jungle Bird, Sam tempted me with another creation by Randy Wong, a local Tiki drink and music fanatic. Several months ago towards the end of Drink's last Tiki Sunday run, I had Randy's Helen the Pacific. This new one was entitled the Chee Hoo Fizz, and Sam sold it by describing it as a Cognac-based Tiki version of a Ramos Fizz.

When I inquired as to what "Chee Hoo" meant, John Gertsen chimed in and explained that it is what kids in the street would yell out in Hawai'i for something that was amazing and out of the world. Perhaps Randy had the Mai Tai in mind when he named it as that drink is named after the Tahitian word "Maita'i" meaning out-of-this-world good. And indeed, the Chee Hoo Fizz was extraordinary. A vibrant lime oil nose from the wide swath of lime peel on top of the drink led into a smooth and citrussy sip. The swallow was crisp and spiced with a lingering orgeat flavor. The egg white, beside adding a luxurious foam to the drink and thicker mouth feel to the sip, mellowed out the flavors much like it does in the Ramos Gin Fizz. Moreover, the egg-derived white foam head created a stunning contrast with the Peychaud's bitters-stained drink below. As the Chee Hoo Fizz warmed up, the falernum clove and allspice flavors became less hidden by the egg white and were much more pronounced in the flavor profile.

who? what?

The euphemisms are getting a bit stale, suffice to say: four people in Boston -- two of whom are much more prolific writers than the other two (including the originator of this blog, who has no excuse apart from laziness) -- who drink and tell.(Note: If you are looking for virgin cocktails, check out the companion MocktailVirgin blog!)